This will be a site to record my thoughts and musings as they occur. A 'vanity' blog or website. Postings will be sporadic as the nature of this site is not a conversation with others, but a monolog to help me in troubled times.
To Those who find good ideas, they are free for theft so long as attribution is given. They are to be *built upon* not used to demean and tear down. Ideas I present I do not declare to be *good* or *perfect* merely *better* or *different*.

25 February 2006

Just like the Cold War, the Global War on Transnational Terrorism has an ill-defined beginning, middle and end. The end of the Cold War did not end every Communist regime on the planet: China, North Korea and Cuba continue to be Communist countries with generally totalitarian regimes. China is trying to square a circle of mixing Capitalist trade with Communist repression and finding it very hard to do, even when western companies kowtow to them. Communism will come to an end because it is inflexible in defining its means and its ends show no hope for the people within it.

Transnational Terrorism, on the other hand, is very flexible in its means, but has a scattershot of goals depending on which group is being examined. But the means do spread due to cross-training amongst these organizations, even if their goals are wildly different. And do note that I use Transnational Terrorism as the defining term, here. Groups that stay within their own countries, garner support from the populace, do not seek outside finance until *after* they have proclaimed a separation from themselves and the government and are creating an alternative government are something else. They are practicing the time-honored method of going from guerilla fighter to ad-hoc state in competition with the host state in an attempt to form something more suitable to their beliefs. By putting on a uniform, adhering to basic military codes of combat, by not targeting civilians and by trying to form a government that protects its people and beliefs, these individuals and organizations are a different kettle of fish from Transnational Terrorists.

Transnational Terrorist organizations do not respect national boundaries, have no defined way to come to power and use any and all means, most particularly targeting civilians, to gain their ends. They do not have an authority structure, do not set down and plant a flag and proclaim their new way and how they will protect those under them and will *not* wear a uniform to identify themselves. Transnational Terrorist do *not* fall within the Geneva Conventions, unlike their revolutionary state-based counterparts. By adhering to no laws, respecting no international order and proclaiming only death and terror as their tools, they gain a different title, much older than revolutionary: Barbarian.

These modern day Barbarians believe that since the standards of respect for life and liberty held by civilized nations and peoples is a weakness, they seek to exploit it through any means. They will publicize any holding of their compatriots as evil and bad and torture via any means possible to gain sympathy and erode the will resistance to them. They will kill anyone, use any means, and do anything necessary if they believe it will erode the will to resist them. They have no respect for life, no respect for liberty and no respect for anything except their dream visions which they do not have the *honor* to attempt to bring about through revolution.

As individuals, when they are caught there is only one thing to do to them: kill them.

These individuals do not respect laws, and are told to lie and do nearly anything to escape and return to their barbaric ways. They do not honor agreements to not go back to those ways. They have no honor.

These individuals do not respect human rights and will capture anyone that they think can be ransomed and *maybe* let them go. Or maybe just kill them once they get the ransom. They do not respect anyone who would pay a ransom and have no respect for the individuals they keep. They have no honor.

So, beyond killing them when found, what can be done?

First: Enforce a banking system that will accurately account for money sources and not allow money laundering through *neutral* countries. Any banking system which cannot do this, will not be allowed to use its funds within the protected system. Funds which leave that system may not return. This can be done through the enforcement of treaties and amending or making new treaties.

Second: Create and enforce a cargo inspection system for all shipping, be it naval, air or ground based. All containers within that system shall have 100% inspection and verification of contents. Ships, planes, or ground vessels which attempt to gain entrance to US territory that have not been verified shall be subject to being stopped and inspected. Planes will go to remote runways set up for the sole purpose of inspecting such craft or be subject to being destroyed as hostile. Ground craft will be stopped at the borders and inspected. Anyone or any vehicle attempting to enter the US will be subject to immediate destruction without warning. Bounties will be set by Congress to allow companies or entrepreneurial individuals to board vessels bound for US waters carrying contraband, and show proof positive of that contraband being on-board that vessel. They will be authorized to use deadly force if fired upon. When that vessel is brought to the US and its contents verified a bounty shall be paid and the seized assets sold at auction.

Third: Assist any country that asks for help in ridding itself of Transnational Terrorists. Aid may be in any form, but will most likely be in the area of Intelligence, training and some troop deployment.

Fourth: Enable military *hot pursuit* without respect to national borders. Any Transnational Terrorist that engages US military forces or attempts forced entry into the US shall be fought and followed until they are killed. No exceptions. That means YOU China, Russia, Iran, North Korea. As nuclear weaponry is not a deterrent to Barbarians, so we can not let the US be blackmailed by it.

Fifth and finally: The US shall enforce liberty within its boundaries so that its people may lead their lives without the threat of tyranny or loss of life. The Federal Government must be held strictly accountable in ALL of its branches to this fight. I do not care who is in power to govern, so long as they GOVERN and not attempt to RULE the people.

The US Constitution is a blessing upon us because it gives us order and freedom and respects that each individual legally within the confines of the US has such. Those that honor agreements and respect this will get likewise treatment. Keeping the peace does not mean that we cannot be unruly, but the people must recognize that this is a fight of civilization against barbarism.

As the barbarians do not know how to give quarter, so shall they get as they give.

As the barbarians do not respect nations, nor laws, nor rules, nor civility, they do not get the honor or leniency of those things.

They have chosen their path to follow.

Let us make an end to them until either they are all dead or have settled to raise a flag and define themselves in a respectable manner.

The Soviet Union was civilized and could be dealt with honorably, even if we disliked their goals.

Transnational Terrorists are not civilized and hold no worthy goals.

As they see those outside of their organization as not human until converted to their ways, so we shall see them as not human until converted to ours.

2 comments:

No one else wants to say it, but this is a zero-sum game and you're correct about what we must do to come out on top, as we must. I don't like the other option, and to paraphrase Patton, I'll make the other son-of-ten-fathers die for what HE believes in. keep it it up.

dhw - That is correct and they prefer it that way due to their world view. However, short of thermonuclear dawn on a few billion folks, there needs to be means and methods to attack them on all fronts: military, social, economic. The first we do pretty well on, but not over well given the paucity of manpower. The second appears to be a null game at the moment, neither side budging much, but the Transnationalists whittling away at our concept of Nations - so that is an end loss if allowed to hold sway. The third has not been done and no one wants to bring it up.

Even just the basics on trade and commerce cannot be mentioned due to Free Trade dogma, which is getting us killed. Thus trade linked with a real foreign policy is a way forward... but we don't have one of those either. So we hold one out of three, with no good recourse on one and total inaction on the other.

I have yet to hear *anyone* sum up this Administration's foreign policy outlook. And so late in the game we must see that there isn't one. And I go over that lack here.

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Trying to save what thoughts I have in case my time for having them comes to an end. I keep many ways of looking at the world and from many perspectives, but they are each a part of a larger whole and reflect my thoughts and feelings.
Diabetic, cataleptic, naracoleptic, hyperlipidemia, cerebral atrophy, allergies and *still* glad to be alive. Founding and sole member of The Jacksonian Party. mail: ajacksonian at gmail dot com

What D&D Character Am I?

Alignment:Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.

Race:Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.